Everything Michigan wide receiver Cornelius Johnson said on In the Trenches

On why he chose to come back

One of the biggest factors for me coming back is that my teammates and I decided to attack this year and achieve something that we've never achieved before.

On whether a CFP win and national championship was a driver for him to come back

It's on my mind like, dang, I can't go out like that. If I just had one more year, I feel like I could really attack the opportunity and nothing is guaranteed. It's so difficult to go out there and win a Big Ten football game. All those tough matchups, you can't take anybody for granted. We know that work we put in but we have to double down on that and work even harder to do things we haven't done before.

On his first touchdown catch against Ohio State

First of all, coming into that game in general, it's just a mindset. I was thinking about all of the matchups, it all comes down to this. It gets to a point where it's a requirement. You've got to beat Ohio State to advance to the championship and advance to the playoffs. That's just a requirement. That was my mindset coming into the game, coming into that play. It was like third and nine, I think I was subbing in from the sideline, maybe I was already in the game, I just remember being in the huddle and I was trying to embrace it. Everyone was screaming and yelling at us, millions of people (were watching). J.J. gave me my route, we looked at each other and I knew it was coming to me. We were able to connect on that sideline and then just turn up from there. It was a great feeling coming to the sideline, we really needed that for our team. That was a great game we just kept on battling the whole time.

On whether it's different in a game like Ohio State when he knows the ball is coming to him

Yeah, but at the same time, you wouldn't want it any other way. That's what you work so hard for. Right now, it's literally March, it's about to be April, these are the moments where it leads up to and slowly but surely it builds up to those games in late November, late December when it all adds up and it's all on the line. I wouldn't want it any other way. You're right, definitely, when you look around you see those big stage games, it kicks in a little bit more.

On the untapped potential of being able to stretch the defense

That's something we want to connect on early and often whether it's the very first game of the season until the end of the season, we want to be able to be hitting on all of our shots and have good timing on all of our routes. It really just comes down to basic execution and trust, knowing which guys are going to be where and having the trust in those guys. Knowing those are the ones who will be able to get it done. Maybe there could've been a couple of different factors last year, that's something we're not really focused on. For me, personally, I'm just trying to control what I can control because I can't be thinking about all these millions of different things when I know I just have to take care of my route and have that trust if I get open that ball is going to be there.

On what taking control of what he can control this spring entails

Just take every day and just being thankful for the opportunity. Not taking that for granted. Coming in and attacking that. Pretending like each practice is like a tryout or a game or whatever it is in your mind where you can elevate the circumstances and not just treat it like, oh yeah, it's just a regular March practice or spring practice, it doesn't matter. When you start to get to that mindset, you start to get messed up mentally. That's how I approach it, to attack each lift with enthusiasm.

On J.J. McCarthy's improvement last year

I'd probably say some of those midseason games where we really fell down and battled adversity, he just kept on trusting the receivers and trusting the line, trusting everyone around him. As the season goes on, the matchups get more and more important, more and more difficult and to see him come back through—maybe we were down in a game, maybe he might've threw an interception or might've had a couple of incompletions here and there but he comes straight back to it, comes right back on the field and keeps on throwing punches left and right. That's something we knew J.J. had and we were going to keep on pushing with that. Keep that momentum going throughout the season. We definitely see each other change over the season and the goal is to be peaking at the end.

On how he will lead the team this year

For me to be the best leader I can be, I value showing it through my plays but also taking guys underneath me. Say, for example, get out of practice and about to go get some extra work with the quarterbacks or maybe get some extra catches or maybe even go in there and get another lift in after hours. Bring someone with you. Bring a young guy with you. Be like, hey, come along with me we're about to get some extra work. Really just dragging guys along with you and try to lead by example because they made not had that in their plans, they might've been trying to get out early or try to take the easy route. Trying to show them that this is what it takes and tell them in these games, that's what is going to matter at the end of the day. Bringing along guys with you. Not necessarily be like a whole motivational speech kind of guy in front of everyone, I got some wise words in the back of my mind that I've got to say to everybody. At the same time, it's more about each individual. Some people lead differently, even like a coaching style. I would say try to get close to everybody on an individual level.

On what type of wisdom he would share with a young football player

10, 11 or 12-year-olds, those guys are at an interesting point in their lives. I would say try to act like you're not 10, 11 or 12. Try to pretend you're already at that high school level. Set that goal for yourself. Even at that level, you can still set a goal for yourself. Say you want to to play varsity in high school or you want to get that college look, you're 12 years old, you're going to eventually start looking at colleges in the future and in high school. It can be a small goal, say you just want to get one touchdown or one catch, that's all you want. Just imagine that in your head and every time you're maybe going through something, you're having a tough practice or a tough day of homework, just imagine that in your head and use it as motivation to get to that goal. Eventually, that's a manifestation and you'll eventually get to that point and keep setting more goals for yourself.

On DJ Turner's NFL Combine showing

I had a feeling because we've been running in the summers and everything and this man was touching 22, 23 miles an hour. We were all like, dang, we knew he was fast but once he got on the line, that speed is different. That straight-line speed is different. To see DJ go out there and pop off like that, it made me really happy because me and DJ have been going at it, especially me as a receiver and him as a DB, we were in the same recruiting class and we came in at the exact same time, since day one freshman year of camp, it's always been me and DJ going at it on the perimeter. I'm glad to see him taking care of business on that 40-yard dash and the rest of the combine. I'm sure he's going to get drafted and have a great career.

On what his mom shared with him about the Ann Arbor area as a recruit

I've got a lot of folks in Detroit, my mom is from Detroit. I feel like half of my family is from Detroit. She was just telling me, it just felt right for me to go to Michigan because it's a great area, great culture, great football, great people here. She was just telling me that you're going to have fun but make sure you attack the schoolwork. From my mom's perspective, she's always focused on school and getting my degree and being just a good man.

On whether there's any pressure from his mom to go to medical school

It's crazy because she's done that but she's probably put it in her head that we're not really—I've got two brothers and none of us are the medical type of trajectory. Maybe her grandkids will. Maybe it might just come down on that. Me and my brothers, we never really got into it for some reason. I don't know why but somehow it hasn't really been like that.

On his dad's book

He has written a book that talks about the Black Fives which is a forgotten era of basketball and throughout the early 1900s all the way up to the 50s, 60s and even now. It all comes down to these different types of pioneers who paved the way. This last month being Black History Month, he's gone all over the place and inspired a lot of people with the book and connected with different basketball programs. I try to take some of those lessons into football. Even going back to my mom and my dad, both of them, I may not write a book or be a doctor, but I still pick up lessons from them, use their work ethic and use that for motivation. If my mom and dad could do it, I can do the same thing, too. Definitely been reading my dad's book and try to use that for inspiration.

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